kanj1's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Gore, Child abuse, Violence, Sexism, Racism, Pedophilia, Lesbophobia, Grief, Abandonment, and Misogyny
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Blood, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Confinement
ash_ton's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
i was not expecting the turn the book took. like, at all. wild
Graphic: Body horror, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Homophobia, Blood, Stalking, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Sexism, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Cannibalism, Child death, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Medical content, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, and Sexual content
Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Terminal illness, Suicide, Bullying, Cancer, and Cultural appropriation
maksipad's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Torture, Stalking, Racism, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Suicide, Addiction, Child death, Murder, Body horror, Homophobia, Xenophobia, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Self harm, and Slavery
strawberrytheauthor's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Lesbophobia, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Torture, Blood, Body horror, Death, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Murder, Pregnancy, Child death, Cursing, Gore, Violence, Addiction, Colonisation, and Gun violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Abandonment, Suicide, Racism, Police brutality, Infertility, and Misogyny
Minor: Sexual assault, Rape, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, and Racial slurs
razzberry_pi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Spoiler
Vern meets Bridget and Gogo and they start figuring stuff outusually i can guess where book twists are going to be, but this one suprised me while still making sense.
definitely head the content warnings on this one as a lot of the topics are quite heavy, but the topics were handled with care in a purposeful way, not just trauma porn
Graphic: Body horror, Violence, Murder, and Stalking
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Self harm
Minor: Police brutality, Animal death, Addiction, Ableism, Alcoholism, Colonisation, Racial slurs, and Racism
lpdx's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Misogyny, Murder, Alcohol, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Racism, Violence, Alcoholism, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Rape, Confinement, Sexual content, Stalking, Suicide, Torture, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Cancer and Medical content
cookiecat73's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Pregnancy, Racism, Stalking, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, Child death, Chronic illness, Classism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Blood, Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Medical content, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Abandonment, Colonisation, Rape, Sexual assault, Drug use, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Excrement, Racial slurs, and Slavery
literarypenguin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book follows a young woman named Vern, a girl born with albinism and astigmatism as she escapes the confines of a cult she was raised in along with her newborn twins Howling and Feral. She hopes to leave that world behind her as she strives to raise her babies in a better and less restricting world. Vern must also learn how to live in this unfamiliar world as she deals with an unexpected change inside of her.
One of the things I loved is how realistic the issues were handled but it was also handled with care and nuance. I loved how the author touched upon racism within the African American community with Vern being albino she never felt like she could connect with the other darker skinned people in her community. It also dealt with homophobia and pedophilia, with Vern being forced into a relationship with a man twice her age while also feeling an attraction toward women but having to hide it to avoid persecution. Cainland was a very believable place to me and their beliefs were written in such a way that made it that much more believable. It made me think that a place like this could exist in reality.
Watching Vern's journey to travel a world she was groomed to fear along with learning how to be a mother to her two children was the part of the book I enjoyed a lot. The second half I will admit did lose me a bit especially the ending. I felt like the ending was trying to hard to create a happy ending when it would have done just as well with a unhappy ending. Even a more neutral ending could have worked in it's favor. I would have loved the book to focus more on Cainland and Vern having to finally come to terms with the trauma that it gave her throughout her whole life. Also the sex scenes were a bit too much with one in particular being very disturbing to me in my opinion.
Besides a few little issues I did enjoy this book and are eager to read more books by Rivers Solomon! I went to see how well their other books fare in comparison to this one!
Graphic: Racism and Body horror
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Homophobia
Minor: Alcoholism
strange_little_ranger's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Gore, Violence, and Death
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Death of parent, Misogyny, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Grief, Murder, Cannibalism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Ableism, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Child death, Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, Body horror, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Torture, Violence, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Sexual content
lilifane's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
It's a story about Vern, who is raised in an isolated cult community. After she is forced to marry the reverend and gets pregnant, she flees the compound and tries to survive on her own.
It's a very raw and gritty story, with fantastical and horror elements. I really liked the writing, even though the graphic violence, gore, body horror and visceral descriptions were not my favorite thing. Although, they created a great atmosphere that fit the story.
I was surprised how mysterious and introspective the story was while still being a page turner full of action. Important themes like racism, misogyny, religion, identity, belonging, motherhood and queerness were very prevalent in the book. I especially enjoyed the found family trope and the survival aspect of the story (please be aware that animals are harmed and eaten, though) as well as the diversity. There are queer, intersex and disabled characters and the protagonist is all of it combined. Vern is a very flawed but also resilient character, I loved her and was rooting for her. The character development is amazing, as well as the relationships and their development. And I absolutely adored Howling and Feral!
I had some issues with parts of the plot and the pacing, but in the end everything fit so well together, and I was not expecting to like the ending as much as I did.
Graphic: Medical content, Violence, Self harm, Sexual content, Transphobia, Animal death, Confinement, Murder, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Domestic abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Outing, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Child death, Grief, Homophobia, Racism, and Sexism
Minor: Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Cancer, and Alcoholism